Lioness
by insomniac-od
Summary: He watched her from afar, she was covered in blood as if a lioness.


**Lioness**  
  
He watched her as she stood triumphantly in the sea of dead bodies. She was a sight – it was almost as if surveying a lioness covered with the blood of her kill. He noted with sadistic humour that she would not have looked out of place in those days of his own wars with the Turks. The animal in him longed to claim her for his own immediately. How he would enjoy pinning her chaste form on top of her kill, how he would relish desecrating her and making her his eternal queen. The more rational side of Alucard however, cautioned him against doing anything to anger her now. She was not ready and there was no telling what she would do if he were to press his case in disregard of her wishes.  
  
At this point in time, she was perfectly capable of carrying on without him. He, on the other hand, was not so sure he could be as unaffected if that were to happen.  
  
His decision pained him but he would wait. Afterall, he had waited so many years already. He could wait some more until she would succumb to his dark promises. She could fight off any enemy if she was so minded (not that he would ever tell her this) but her stubborn insistence on clinging to her mortality would be her Achilles' heel.  
  
It rankled him nevertheless. She was alone now – everyone else had fallen in battle and the conditions were favorable to him. Still, it was no telling what she might do. Afterall, although she had taken a severe blow this time, she was not defeated. As he reached in to delve into her mind, he felt a strong resistance against his attempts. He won in the end but still, what he found surprised him. He had hoped there would be at least an iota of desolation and fear – the little but precious fertile grounds for his seeds of self doubt, but it appeared that she would deny his hope for any chinks in her armour.  
  
She was indeed his Athena, his beautiful and deadly goddess.  
  
"Stubborn woman," he muttered under his breath even as he realized that he both damned her and loved her all the more for her unwavering nature.  
  
He watched her as she surveyed her fallen comrades in sorrow. He knew that their deaths pained her but that she would instead draw strength from their sacrifice. He heard each and every oath she swore to them, that their deaths would not be in vain, that they would live on in her.  
  
Would things have turned out differently if the blasted Millennium was capable to bringing her to death's threshold? Had she required his dark gift to continue her fight ...  
  
In truth, he had been extremely close this time. He almost could have forced his dark blood into her – with or without her consent, but for the fact she found the courage and strength to continue fighting on her own. He did not know whether it was relief or disappointment he felt when he watched her rise to slaughter her enemies unaided.  
  
Disappointment gnawed at his dark soul because he knew she was still too strong and thus too proud to accept his dark gift for her – for now.  
  
At the same time, he had to admit that pride and relief swelled within his wicked heart. She had proven how truly immortal in spirit she was. He had not made a wrong choice. Companions of her caliber did not come by easily even for one who could and would live beyond any man's expectation and he would thus be a fool to let her go. This small setback would not deter him but would instead, encourage him on. He knew he did not need her to live on but eternity without her, knowing that he could have had such a queen by his side, would be too great an insult to bear.  
  
He watched her quietly from the shadows as she turned to inspect the carnage around her. How he longed to teach her the delights of the night. But a few years of wait would be no matter – Hades would see the day Persephone would come to him of her own accord.  
  
He chuckled at the idea. They would rule Gaea and all her children with an iron fist.  
  
It was then, she turned in his direction. Nonchalantly, and as if she had always been aware of his presence, she smiled. He found himself staring in amazement - her smile was not one that smacked of foolish arrogance or one that suggested it was only a pretense or a cover for her pain. It was the smile of a lioness who had not been defeated.  
  
He found her hope ironic. Surrounded by those who would never hope again, she nevertheless, refused to be dominated in spirit.  
  
"So Alucard, what kind of organization do you think we should build now? I have no idea but I can hardly wait to find out."  
  
A/N: Deem the woman to be whoever you want, from the Queen to Integra to Seras but I'll spit on you if you fill in a Mary Sue.


End file.
